'We screwed up:' Sycamore Place apologizes for issuing wrongful eviction notice to 98-year-old
Managers of a Milwaukee apartment complex who erroneously issued an eviction notice to a 98-year-old tenant last month apologized for their mistake and vowed it would never happen again.
Last week, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the story of 98-year-old Carolyn Bolton, a resident at Sycamore Place apartments who was issued a five-day eviction notice in October despite paying her rent.
The eviction threat came as a shock to Bolton's daughter and caretaker, Yvette Woelfel, who talked to the Public Investigator team shortly after receiving the notice.
Woelfel shared documentation of the $1,245 rent check that had been cashed on Oct. 2 by AB Village LLC, the owner of the apartment complex. She also detailed her challenges in getting an explanation for why the notice was distributed. At the time, Woelfel had gone weeks without timely responses from building management about the notice.
The Public Investigator team asked several legal experts to evaluate the eviction notice. They identified several abnormalities with the notice that appeared inconsistent with Wisconsin law.
For example, Bolton's eviction notice was slipped under her door, which all the experts said was unusual. A separate eviction notice for a neighbor was also paper-clipped to her notice.
In addition, Bolton's notice indicated that the family would not have the opportunity to "cure" or resolve the matter with building management. According to experts from UW-Madison Eviction Lab and Legal Action of Wisconsin, if the resident has proof that they paid the rent, then the property owner should not be able to terminate the lease.
In a statement sent to the Journal Sentinel on Monday, the owners and staff of Sycamore Place Apartments said they issued an apology to Bolton and Woelfel for the "staff error."
"We screwed up," the statement read. "The issuance of the notice and the way in which it was communicated was wrong. Our tenants deserve better. Sycamore Place is reviewing our internal policies to assure that this same type of error will not be made in the future. Mrs. Bolton is a valued member of our community and we hope she and her daughter remain with us for many years to come."
Woelfel said the building's property manager, Michelle Winter, also offered an in-person apology to the family.
Though the family's concerns were addressed, Woelfel still feels that individuals without adequate understanding of their rights as tenants remain at risk of losing their homes as a consequence of landlord negligence.
"The apology is nice and, yes, they plan to get their their act together, but they need to understand not only the repercussions to me, but to other people," Woelfel said.
She hopes that the company will be more direct and intentional about clear communication in the future and will alert residents that their rent is due or has not been received, before threatening them with eviction.
"It's not necessarily malicious, but in the course of being sloppy, that messiness becomes malicious," Woelfel added.
Lashawnda Westmoreland — the other resident at Sycamore Place whose whose eviction notice was slipped under Bolton's door — said she never received any follow-up from the apartment complex regarding her notice.
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More of our articles on tenants' rights and eviction
Answering common questions about the eviction process in Wisconsin
Where can I go for help if I'm a renter and there's a problem with the property or building?
EvictionFreeMKE.org offers free legal help to those on verge of losing their rented homes
LIFT Dane's Legal Tune-up Tool can help you remove eligible criminal and eviction records
Still have questions about the eviction process? Contact us.
Government corruption. Corporate wrongdoing. Consumer complaints. Medical scams. Public Investigator is a new initiative of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and its sister newsrooms across Wisconsin. Our team wants to hear your tips, chase the leads and uncover the truth. We'll investigate anywhere in Wisconsin. Send your tips to watchdog@journalsentinel.com or call 414-319-9061. You can also submit tips at jsonline.com/tips.
Tamia Fowlkes is a Public Investigator reporter. You can reach Tamia at 414-224-2193 or tfowlkes@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @tamiafowlkes.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee's Sycamore Place apologizes for wrongful eviction threat
